Bristol Bay Summer

Annie Boochever

Description

Against the backdrop of the great Bristol Bay salmon fishery, thirteen-year-old Zoey Morley struggles with
her parents divorce, her moms bush-pilot boyfriend, and the pangs of growing up during her summer in the
real Alaska. Author Annie Boochever tells a compelling tale of a divided family living a remote lifestyle where
getting along as a team is a matter of survival. Zoey learns to trust the artist inside her and finds she and her
new friend Thomas have something in common. Readers will live the lessons learned and taught by this young
girl who finds that hard work, compassion, and the ability to see things in her own special way lead her toward
happiness in a place that at first seems just too far away.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Maps
1. Departure
2. Last Stop
3. Latrine Business
4. Chez Jensen-Morley
5. Night Visitors
6. A New Boy
7. Darth Vader
8. Colorado Honey
9. Thomas to the Rescue
10. Naknek
11. Knives and Fur Hats for Sale
12. Captain
13. A Gift
14. Patrick
15. Fishing Begins
16. Rulers of the World
17. Bag Balm
18. A Cake in the Coleman?
19. Blue Skies and Brown Bears
20. Swallowed a Lead Line
21. Dancing with Mosquitoes
22. A Not So Happy Birthday
23. Payday
24. Dillingham
25. So Many Fish
26. Midnight
27. Japanese Typhoon
28. Refuge
29. After the Storm
30. An Uncertain Good-bye
31. Dad
32. Crash Position
33. MayDay! MayDay
34. It’ll Work Out
35. Ghosts in the Water
36. Home Again
Glossary
Acknowledgments
Discussion Questions

Sujets

• General officer
• General

Informations

• Publié par: West Margin Press
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781941821251
• Langue: English

Extrait

Bristol Bay Summer made me miss Alaska. Its authentic, wonderfully written story includes the joys and challenges of growing up in the Last Frontier.
-Jewel, singer-songwriter, author, and proud native of Homer, Alaska
Having spent twenty-three delightful summers in Bristol Bay myself, I m thrilled that Annie Boochever has written a book that so perfectly captures both the coming of age of a young adult in this uniquely Alaskan setting, but more importantly, provides insights into the profound rich cultural heritage of this fishery. Bristol Bay Summer is a must-read for anyone-young and old alike-wishing to better understand the critical importance of the Bristol Bay salmon fishery to both feeding the world AND feeding the soul!
-Sue Aspelund
Books about the real Alaska are few and far between. Bristol Bay Summer , the newest addition to the canon, is the real thing. Through the eyes of Alaskan newcomer Zoey Morley, we fall in love with the power and beauty of Bristol Bay and its people. Annie Boochever s prose is as fierce and elemental as the land itself; her story takes readers to the edge of the cliff and back again.
-Debby Dahl Edwardson, National Book Award Finalist and author of Blessing s Bead and My Name is Not Easy
When Zoey s parents divorce, her dad disappears, and her mom uproots her-twice. She feels angry and alone. Through the hard work of living in a wild part of Alaska, she comes to rely on strengths she never knew she had. She learns compassion for those around her, coming to understand that their lives are at least as difficult as her own. This is a powerful story of a girl becoming a woman, a story of land and sea and artistry.
-Peggy Shumaker, Alaska State Writer Laureate 2010-2012
Bristol Bay
Summer
Annie Boochever
Text 2014 by Annie Boochever
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Boochever, Annie.
Bristol Bay summer / by Annie Boochever. pages cm Summary: Against the backdrop of the great Bristol Bay salmon fishery, thirteen-year-old Zoey Morley struggles with her parents divorce, her mom s bush-pilot boyfriend, and the pangs of growing up during her summer in the real Alaska - Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-88240-994-8 (paperback) ISBN 978-1-941821-27-5 (hardbound) ISBN 978-1-941821-25-1 (e-book) [1. Bristol Bay (Alaska)-Fiction. 2. Divorce-Fiction. 3. Self-reliance- Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.B64483Br 2014 [Fic]-dc23
Edited by Michelle McCann
Design by Vicki Knapton Maps by Ani Rucki
Front cover photos: salmon iStock.photo.com/andyKRAKOVSKI ; airplane Ruedi Homberger; chapter opening photo: iStock.photo.com/eAlisa ; back cover photo: iStock.photo.com/xposedpixel .
Published by Alaska Northwest Books An imprint of

P.O. Box 56118 Portland, Oregon 97238-6118 503-254-5591 www.graphicartsbooks.com
To my children Liorah, Zachary, Megan, and Spencer, who steady the boat when the wind kicks up.
Contents
Maps
1. Departure
2. Last Stop
3. Latrine Business
4. Chez Jensen-Morley
5. Night Visitors
6. A New Boy
7. Darth Vader
8. Colorado Honey
9. Thomas to the Rescue
10. Naknek
11. Knives and Fur Hats for Sale
12. Captain
13. A Gift
14. Patrick
15. Fishing Begins
16. Rulers of the World
17. Bag Balm
18. A Cake in the Coleman?
19. Blue Skies and Brown Bears
20. Swallowed a Lead Line
21. Dancing with Mosquitoes
22. A Not So Happy Birthday
23. Payday
24. Dillingham
25. So Many Fish
26. Midnight
27. Japanese Typhoon
28. Refuge
29. After the Storm
30. An Uncertain Good-bye
31. Dad
32. Crash Position
33. MayDay! MayDay!
34. It ll Work Out
35. Ghosts in the Water
36. Home Again
Glossary
Acknowledgments
Discussion Questions
Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.
-Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds

1

Departure
Alaskans like to call their state The Last Frontier. It even says that on the license plates. Like a big adventure is around every corner, and every one of those cars is revved up and ready to go exploring. And the families inside are excited to take on the wilderness, with a song in their hearts and stacks of sourdough pancakes in their tummies.
Maybe that s what Alaskans are like, but Zoey Morley was definitely not there yet.
That s your airplane? You couldn t afford one with three real tires? Zoey frowned at Patrick and shook her head. You can t be serious.
Taildragger, her mother, Alice, had called it, and now Zoey understood. The plane had one small wheel under the tail and two bigger wheels in the front.
All of us in that little thing with all our stuff? It doesn t.
Zoey s voice trailed off. It was no use. Every time the Bristol Bay idea had come up, she was very clear: I m not going! But here she was, standing on the dusty pavement at Merrill Field in front of the most rickety, pathetic-looking plane in the whole airport.
Even with its yellow and white paint job, the little airplane seemed sad and tired. That s how Zoey felt too. Sad every time she thought of her mom and dad before the breakup. And tired from the packing, the days of driving, the unpacking, the new neighborhood, the new school. Most of all, she was tired of being sad.
Zoey tugged at a blonde braid and thought again of Colorado last summer, the car jammed with stuff and her dad in the driveway looking so clueless. He got smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror as they drove away. Then he was gone. So was the life she had always known.
When they arrived at her Aunt Linda s house in Anchorage, the days were already getting dark and cold. Now after a longer winter than she had thought possible, the sun finally felt warm, the snow had melted, and here they were leaving again.
In that!
Zoey, if you can t say anything nice. Her mom, again. Now make a line and help pass boxes.
Zoey glared at her mother and pushed a box containing packages of cereal and spaghetti at her six-year-old brother, Eliot. He croaked out a raspy Kraak, kraak, and passed it on to their mom.
He s being a raven again. What a weirdo. She looked at his mismatched socks, the old jacket with the duct-tape patch on the sleeve, and the straight blonde hair that hung in his eyes. He was more like a lost puppy than the mysterious Raven, the famous star of so many Alaska Native stories.
Eliot brushed his bangs aside with one hand. The box finally reached the tall, rugged man in the doorway of the plane. Their mom s boyfriend, Patrick. He was a bush pilot, and this mess was his big idea.
We need to earn some money, Zoey, her mom had said.
Zoey agreed with her there. Ever since her parents had split up, all she heard was, Too expensive, Zoey. Not now. I need to pay the rent. Your dad s not paying any child support. Her mom didn t say that, but Zoey knew she was thinking it.
Most people who need money find a real job. Zoey s mom taught piano lessons in their living room. This Bristol Bay thing wasn t a job either. It was, well Zoey didn t know what it was, except crazy.
Wanna check out inside? Patrick patted the wing above the door.
Zoey paused.
Can I see? Eliot rushed past bumping Zoey on the way.
Zoey rolled her eyes. Whatever.
Eliot climbed up and peered inside. Cool! Come on, Zoey. You gotta see. He stepped down to make way for his sister.
Zoey sighed. She grabbed the wing strut and levered herself up on the metal footrest below the door. Inside the plane, pieces of stuffing spilled from split fabric on the seats, and a shredded lining hung from the ceiling like cobwebs. The area behind the seats was stuffed with boxes.
What s wrong with it? Why is it all raggedy?
Patrick set a box in the doorway. It was labeled Food Supplements in her mom s swirly writing. It s an old plane. But the price was right.
Mom! You said .
Zoey, that s enough.
Hang on a minute, so I can make enough room for you guys to sit.
Zoey lowered herself back to the tarmac. Patrick tucked his frame through the door, pushing boxes of canned vegetables ahead of him.

Zoey s mom shook her head. Zoey, we ve been over and over this. Most kids would love to fly in a small plane. And Bristol Bay? It s the most famous sockeye fishing area in Alaska, maybe in the world. Just wait till you see it.
I don t ever want to see it! How many times do I have to say this? We just got here, and now we re moving again! It s not fair!
Her mom sighed and shook her head. Patrick backed out the door.
Zoey, it s pretty clear your mom can t teach enough lessons to pay the rent, and I can t help out unless we get this plane out west where I can haul fish. There s a lot of money to be made out there, but it s a short season. There s no time to waste. Now, let s get this baby in the air.
He gently picked up their old black lab, Lhasa, and eased her onto the floor behind the passenger seat. If Lhasa was concerned about the plane, she didn t show it. Eliot was next.
Don t worry, guys; the engine s real solid, said Patrick.
Raven Boy ready to fly! Eliot shouted.
Patrick reached his hand down to help Zoey. She ignored him, pulled herself up, climbed over Eliot, and sandwiched herself against a window. Zoe